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Adrenergic Receptors
Paul J. Mills, Ph.D.
University of California, San Diego
The catecholamines norepinephrine and epinephrine initiate biochemical and physiological
events by binding to the three subclasses of -adrenergic and the six subclasses of adrenergic receptors (Hall, 2004; Piascik & Perez, 2001; Taylor & Bristow, 2004). These
adrenergic receptors provide the functional link between catecholamines and the numerous end
organ responses they generate. In addition to modulating catecholamine release and re-uptake,
they mediate end organ responses such as blood pressure, heart rate, myocardial contractility,
vascular constriction and relaxation, and renin release and inhibition, as well as a host of
immune functions such as immune cell trafficking, adhesion, and cytokine responses, all of
relevance to mind-body medicine (Brodde, 1990; Sanders, 1995).
Since the sensitivity and density of agonist receptors are dynamically regulated in response to
changing concentrations of adrenergic agonists (e.g., desensitization and down-regulation of
receptors), it can be important in certain research models to be able to measure them directly.
There are both in vivo and in vitro techniques to determine the functionality of adrenergic
receptors. In vivo techniques involve infusing adrenergic agonists and assessing a specific end
organ response. These methods are typically carried out in a clinical research setting and
require medical oversight. In vitro techniques typically involve isolating peripheral cells or
specific organ tissue and quantifying either the number or sensitivity or both of the adrenergic
receptors expressed in that tissue. We briefly review the methodologies of these techniques.
In vivo Techniques to Assess Adrenergic Receptors
An in vivo technique for assessing -adrenergic receptor sensitivity involves infusing the
adrenergic agonist isoproterenol and then measuring the heart rate response. An in vivo
technique for assessing -adrenergic receptor sensitivity involves infusing the -adrenergic
agonist phenylephrine and then measuring the blood pressure response. The general approach
to both methods is similar. We will present details of the method to assess -adrenergic
receptor sensitivity. This technique is called the chronotropic 25 dose, or CD25 for short. The
method involves intravenously infusing a series of bolus doses of isoproterenol and then
measuring the heart rate response (Mills et al., 1998; Dimsdale and Mills, 2002). Doses are
typically 0, 0.10, 0.25, 0.50, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 g. Heart rate is charted continuously by ECG and
the maximum heart rate response to each dose is recorded. CD25 is calculated using the
following formula: CD25 (g isoproterenol) = [(basal heart rate + 25) - intercept] / slope. The
slope and intercept for each individuals heart rate response to isoproterenol is calculated by
linear regression. The CD25 value can then be tested for differences between groups by t-test or
ANOVA.
In vitro Techniques to Assess Adrenergic Receptors
Whereas the in vivo techniques can only provide information on the functional sensitivity of
adrenergic receptors, in vitro techniques can provide information on both sensitivity and density
of adrenergic receptors. In addition to conducting the assays on tissues of interest, such as
cardiac or lung tissue for the -adrenergic receptor or adipose tissue for the -adrenergic
receptor, there are less invasive ways to access these receptors by using peripheral blood cells.
Lymphocytes, for example, express 2-adrenergic receptors which can serve as a model for adrenergic receptors on the heart and lung. Platelets contain 2-adrenergic receptors which

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have been used in psychiatry and behavioral medicine research as a model of human adrenergic receptors and drug responsiveness.
For these in vitro experiments using peripheral cells, lymphocytes and platelets are isolated
from whole blood using a variety of techniques and then washed in preparation for the
sensitivity and/or density assays. Such techniques have been used widely in studies on stress,
hypertension, antihypertensive drug therapy, sleep apnea, and spaceflight (Bao et al., 2005;
Meck et al., 2004; Mills et al., 2002). There are limitations to using peripheral blood cells as
models of adrenergic receptors that researchers should be aware of (Mills & Dimsdale, 1993).
As with the in vivo techniques, the in vitro techniques for assessing adrenergic receptor
sensitivity involve stimulating the receptor of interest with an agonist and then measuring the
response. Since many of the adrenergic receptors act through the activation of the membrane
bound enzyme adenylate cyclase, which catalyzes the conversion of adenosine triphosphate
(ATP) to cyclic adenosine monophosphite (cAMP), determining the amount of cAMP following
receptor stimulation can be used as an index of receptor sensitivity. Typically, the greater the
sensitivity and density of -adrenergic receptors, the greater the amount of cAMP that is
generated in the cell in response to stimulation. In the case of the -adrenergic receptor,
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stimulation with a maximal dose of isoproterenol [10 mol/L] results in a 3 to 5-fold increase in
lymphocyte intracellular cAMP levels.
The in vitro assay for determining adrenergic receptor density is called radioligand binding,
which can be performed on intact whole cells or membranes from fractionated cells. Radioligand
binding involves incubating a radioligand with the cell of interest under highly controlled
conditions. When using peripheral cells, typical radioligands for -adrenergic receptors are [125I]iodocyanopindolol and [125I]iodopindolol. [3H]prazosin, [(3)H]rauwolscine, and [3H]yohimbine are
ligands for -adrenergic receptors. Upon termination of the incubation by, usually by dilution, the
unbound radioligand is removed by filtration. The remaining radioligand that is bound to the cell
surface receptors is then measured and used to calculate the density of the receptor. The basic
underlying principles of radioligand receptor binding are similar to physiologically linked receptor
binding, although the inherent complexity of the physiologic receptor environment noted above
is absent in the laboratory environment. There are a number of important issues that need to be
addressed to ensure that optimal experimental conditions have been met and that the binding
experiments measure the specific receptors of interest. Although radioligands are designed to
bind specifically to the receptor of interest, there is always some nonspecific binding to other
membrane proteins. This amount of nonspecific binding is determined by incubating the
radioligand and tissue in the presence of a non-radioactive competing ligand which will bind to
nearly all of the specific receptors of interest and leave the radioligand binding to only the
nonspecific sites. The non-radioactive ligand is usually propranolol for -adrenergic receptors
and phentolamine for -adrenergic receptors. By subtracting the radioactivity observed in the
presence of the unlabeled drug (nonspecific binding) from that obtained in the absence of the
unlabeled drug (total binding), the amount of specific binding is obtained. Specific binding
represents the binding of interest. To determine the receptor density and binding affinity,
radioligand binding isotherms are used. Bmax, or the maximum amount of radioligand bound to
the receptors, is the number of receptors expressed on the whole cell or the density expressed
on cellular membranes. Kd, or the dissociation constant or binding affinity of the radioligand for
the receptor, is the concentration of radioligand that binds to half of the specific receptors.
Radioligand binding isotherms involve incubating six to eight concentrations of the radioligand
with a constant number of cells or membranes. The data derived is then mathematically
transformed and analyzed by nonlinear regression to yield Bmax and Kd (Motulsky, 2001).
Depending on factors such as age, fitness, hypertension, use of adrenergic receptor

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antagonists, etc., receptor binding typically yields a Bmax of 600-2000 2-adrenerigc receptors
per lymphocyte and a Bmax of 240-600 2-adrenerigc receptors per platelet.

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